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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29514732">Pristine Paperwork</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/salt_n_pepper/pseuds/salt_n_pepper'>salt_n_pepper</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Purple Hyacinth - Ephemerys &amp; Sophism (Webcomic)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>first fic, idk what else to put here, lil bit of fluff ig?, meeting of will and kym</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 03:09:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,746</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29514732</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/salt_n_pepper/pseuds/salt_n_pepper</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>William Hawkes and Kym Ladell are about the most dynamic duo you'll meet in Ardhalis. They bicker, tease, and annoy each other, but they also support, care for, and work well with each other. Here's my headcanon of how they met...and how chaotic it was. </p><p>Plus a small bonus scene!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>William Hawkes &amp; Kym Ladell</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Breathe in deep, breathe out slow. Calm your nuggets, now you’re good to go.</em>
</p><p>Kym recited the mantra until a warm diffusion of peace blanketed her anxiety.</p><p>
  <em>Thanks, Daena.</em>
</p><p>It was to be her first day as an officer at the 11th precinct. After years of tenacity, she was finally getting the job she had been working for since childhood.</p><p>
  <em>I wonder, would you be proud of me? Would you be happy that I followed your footsteps? Or would you be scared...scared that I’d end up like you?</em>
</p><p>She slapped her cheeks lightly to repel those thoughts. Daena knew the risks of what she signed up for and Kym knew them too. It was her decision to continue even though death was around every corner, her perseverance that kept her fighting for the lives of those that she could save.</p><p>And right here, right now, it was her time to shine.</p><p>“Ahem.”</p><p>Startled, Kym spun on her heel and nearly karate-chopped a young blonde officer in the face. He looked at her outstretched hand warily and sidestepped it.</p><p>“Ah, you were blocking the doorway. Sorry if I scared you.”</p><p>“Oh God, I’m so sorry! I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Kym slapped her forehead. “I’m always doing stuff like this.”</p><p>He smiled warmly. “It’s quite alright. Say, are you new at the precinct? I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”</p><p>“Yeah, I’m here for my first day as an officer.” Kym said, still embarrassed at her near-catastrophe.</p><p>“Well then, I’ll show you to Lieutenant Markham. Come on in,” he strode past her, opening the doors to a new chapter of her life.</p><p>••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••</p><p>Lieutenant Juliet Markham was an austere woman in her mid-thirties, with black hair and a piercing gaze that reminded Kym of the raven that lived in the tree outside her window.</p><p>“And you are?” she asked with a neatly arched brow as Kym walked in, fiddling her fingers.</p><p>“Kym Ladell, I’m the new recruit.”</p><p>“Oh, you were the one with the near-perfect marksmanship record, correct? Promising indeed. Let’s get you to your office.” She strode to the heavy oak door and motioned for Kym and the handsome–stop thinking that, Kym–blonde officer. He looked at her with impressed ocean-colored eyes, mouthing “Near-perfect, huh?” and she gave him a shy smile.</p><p>“Officers, may I have your attention,” Markham said, sounding more like a command than a request. “We have a new member, Officer Kym Ladell, with us today. I expect her to be welcomed appropriately and for you all to help her adjust into her workplace. Any words, Officer Ladell?” she queried, turning to Kym. Kym swallowed at the guarded expressions of her new colleagues.</p><p>“Hello, everyone, I’m Kym Ladell and....I love watermelons. I hope to work well with you all!”</p><p>A couple snickers went across the room and even Markham’s eyes twinkled with amusement as she showed Kym to her new desk. After that, everyone was nicer to her. A few even made small talk with her! And one of them...just gave her a death glare that said, <em>I hate you already. Stay out of my way, you watermelon-loving weirdo. </em></p><p>Well, she would make sure to annoy him the most.</p><p>The blonde officer popped by to introduce himself as Sergeant William Hawkes, her desk neighbor. And then proceeded to dump a pile of paperwork on her desk.</p><p>“We’ll have you start here on your first day and then-” Kym rolled her eyes, earning her a glare from the sergeant. “Something to say?” “Paperwork on my first day? I thought you were a little nicer than that, Sergeant. Where’s your sense of humor, of fun? What, don’t tell me you actually enjoy paperwork?”</p><p>William huffed. “Well, I had thought that you were a more respectable officer from our first meeting, Ladell. And yes, as a matter of fact, I find paperwork to be a wonderful reprieve from the chaos of the office.”</p><p>“Chaos? You call this chaos? This quaint peaceful office is chaotic to you? That’s so LAME. Lame William. Wil<em>lame</em><em>. </em>That’s your new nickname,<em> “ </em>she sang.</p><p>William opened and closed his mouth like a speechless fish. “I-I can’t deal with this. Officer Ladell, I AM YOUR SUPERIOR OFFICER. You will do your paperwork and don’t you ever speak to me like that again.”</p><p>“Oh yeah? What are you gonna do about it?” Kym leaned closer to his face, smirking.</p><p>And promptly fell on the cup of coffee that had been given to her by the secretary.</p><p>In slow motion, it flew into the air, splashing the bitter brown drink all over Willam’s neat hair, pressed clothes, and pristine pile of paperwork. The entire office fell silent, all waiting for the reaction from the sergeant’s utterly gobsmacked face as he dropped the spoiled papers.</p><p>“OFFICER KYM LADELL, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?! ON YOUR FIRST DAY, YOU’VE MANAGED NOT ONLY TO INSULT MY DIGNITY AND THE WORK OF THIS PRECINCT, BUT YOU’VE COVERED THEM IN COFFEE TOO,” William growled, his volume gradually increasing with each word. Kym flinched, ready for a scolding –<em>something I know all too well</em>– but it never came. Instead, he took a deep frustrated breath with his eyes closed, as if he was trying to will her presence back into whatever hellhole she had come out of.</p><p>“I am going to clean up myself. I am going to report this incident to Lieutenant Markham. Then, I am going to file a request to change precincts. YOU are going to salvage what you can from this paperwork and re-copy it, with the help of Miss Desroses if it’s necessary,” he gritted each word out of his teeth, like he was in severe pain. He turned around and meant to walk to the restrooms, when a voice stopped him.</p><p>“Hey, Sarge.” Oh, that was the officer who’d tried to stab her with his eyes.</p><p>“Yes, Lukas?”</p><p>“You might want to check the back of your pants. There’s a little surprise gift from our lovely new officer there.”</p><p>William, his eyes <em>afraid</em>, looked over his shoulder to his pants.</p><p>His butt was covered in coffee. And his pants were sticking to it.</p><p>That day, Kym saw all the possible shades of red a person could turn at once as William rushed out of the office, mumbling “fire her” and “idiot” under his breath and Lukas the Grumpy Cat (she was nicknaming everyone now) snapped a picture with a camera pulled seemingly out of nowhere.</p><p>
  <span>As soon as he was gone, the entire office exploded into a gregarious hale of laughter. Kym was being slapped on the back and high-fiving people she had never talked to. Even Lukas walked up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks for the blackmail material. I still don’t like you, so don’t think this makes us all chummy or whatever, okay, Officer </span>
  <em>
    <span>Lester</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She’d get there eventually, there was still time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Secretary Desroses came over with wads of paper towels and a nervous look on her face, as if she didn’t quite know how to feel about the whole situation. But she smiled at Kym nonetheless and promised to help whenever necessary. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kym lounged against her desk, grinning. Even if everything else changed, she could always be counted upon to make the Perfect Mr. Willame Hawkes break. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Kym Ladell is the most insufferable woman I have ever met, </span>
  </em>
  <span>was all that went through Will’s head as he begged the coffee stains to come out of his clothes. Her first impression on him had miserably failed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then again, she didn’t seem like the type to care about first impressions. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>How could someone not care about how others saw them? “Everyone else is constantly watching and so you should always act like they are,” were the words his father had drilled into his head since Rafael left, putting their family name in disgrace. It was his duty to uphold what his brother couldn’t, to fill the hole that Rafael left in his family’s hearts. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This was the first time that he’d felt so frustrated about it. He had wanted to yell so much at Ladell, but duty held him back. Instead, she was getting off with a light slap on the wrist because he couldn’t afford to lose his temper in front of the entire patrol unit. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d find a way to make her pay for that later. With more paperwork, perhaps.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>But it is nice,</span>
  </em>
  <span> he admitted to himself with a half-smile, </span>
  <em>
    <span>to have someone like her in the office. It’s only her first day and she’s made more people laugh </span>
  </em>
  <span>genuinely </span>
  <em>
    <span>than I ever have in my entire lifetime. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Perhaps I could learn something from this idiot.</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hi all, this is my first PH fic! I wanted to write something wholesome and chaotic before I decide to make people cry so that they don't kill me before they read my works. if you want to keep reading, the next chapter contains a lil bonus scene~</p><p> </p><p>special thank you to the people who read it on google docs &lt;3. I've never posted on ao3 and their praise gave me the courage to!</p><p>also if anyone gets the parks and rec reference in there...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Bonus Scene</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which William is promoted to Lieutenant and discovers another surprise.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“To the new lieutenant of the 11th precinct, William Hawkes!” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Chief Tristan Sinclair was presenting Will’s badge to him as part of his special honor as the youngest lieutenant in the Ardhalis Police Department. Will stood with his back as stiff as a board, ignoring the tiny pinprick of the badge and with it, the disappointment that he would have to work forever harder to please his father. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Mr. Hawkes, as part of your duties as lieutenant, you will be assessing officers and reporting their capabilities, strengths, weaknesses, and their work ethic with their peers. Assisting you will be your new sergeant, who I will give you the honor of promoting. Officer Kym Ladell, do come here.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>For the millionth time, Will was speechless thanks to Kym Ladell. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>She beamed at him, her eyes warm like twin suns. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Surprised, Will?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That’s Lieutenant to you, Officer.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“And Sergeant to you, <em> Willame </em>,” she shot back. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Well, technically, no. YOU don’t have your badge yet.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Pshaw, technically, shmechnically. And the only reason I don’t have my badge yet is because YOU are so caught up in this conversation that you haven’t realized that Chief’s been holding it out to you for the last 30 seconds,” she pointed out, flustering Will as he realized that the chief was clearing his throat.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> Well, I can’t completely say that she doesn’t deserve it. For all her endless antics and illogical obsession with watermelons, she always steps up when it matters most. She’s observant, intuitive, and – God, I’m never telling her any of this. </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He took the badge, making sure to stab just a little harder than necessary as he pinned it on the lapels of Kym’s coat. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hmph, you’re petty, Lieutenant.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Only for you, Ladell,” he said as the two of them turned to face the wonderful wide world together.</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
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